To Build A Home
by tess.untitled
Summary: Because everything happens for a reason.
1. When a door is closed

This story is dedicated to **Lodie**, who happens to be the most awesome person on earth, because she is that wonderful. :] And because it was truly her idea. LOL. Thanks, love.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Lie To Me.

… … ... …

Christmas is that magical time of the year when families come together and sit around the same table.

Christmas is that magical time of the year when the number of _hello_'s is surpassed by the number of exchanged gifts and _miss you_'s, by the number of hugs and smiles and sometimes even by the number of tears.

Christmas is that magical time of the year when you come home not to find the silence or the coldness of an empty house, but to find the warmness of the human existence, of the mutual laces of love that connect a group of people that we learned to call _family._

Unless, of course, you happen to be divorced and it's your ex-wife's turn to have _your_ daughter _home_ for Christmas.

Unless, of course, you happen to have lost your mother ages ago and haven't spoken with your father ever since.

Unless, of course, you happen to be Cal Lightman.

… … … …

Cal Lightman didn't really remember when or why Christmas had become just another day on the calendar; he didn't quite remember how his favorite holiday had become just another 24 hours for him to sit on his couch, scotch in hand, feeling sorry for himself.

Actually, he had an idea of when it had all started but he didn't feel like thinking about it or studying the situation any further because he knew it would hurt and the whole point of being drinking was to numb the pain.

So he just sat there.

He just sat on his couch, the now empty glass by the bottle, both resting over the coffee table that stood right in front of him. Even though his body seemed to be frozen and lifeless, you didn't have to be a face reader to know that his mind was elsewhere, somewhere far away, working actively.

You would be scared to know the number of people that would pay all the money in the world to know what goes on inside the head of the world's most famous lie detector; to know the number of people that would pay all the money in the world to know what was causing his face muscles to contract and show sadness, regret and pain.

You see, when you become a specialist in catching liars, you become a specialist in lying. And when you become a specialist in lying, everyone wants to know how you do it and how they can learn how to do it.

Unless, of course, they happen to be Gillian Foster.

His thoughts now rested upon that very same name.

_Gillian_.

A deep sigh came out of his mouth as his mind cuddled the feeling of hope that the name brought him.

He couldn't help but wonder where she would possibly be at the moment.

He knew that this was her favorite time of the year but he also knew that this was the first time she was going to spend her Christmas without Alec, her ex-husband.

He had talked to her earlier that day at the Lightman Group and she seemed to be fine.

He closed his eyes as he re-lived the last moments he had spent with her, as he remembered the last words she had told him.

Had she meant them?

Had she lied to him?

He cursed under his breath before reaching out for his glass and refilling it.

He hated the fact that it was getting harder and harder for him to read her face. It seemed that he was getting better at reading and she was getting better at hiding from him.

And he blamed himself for that.

Of course he did.

He was the one who kept pushing the _bloody_ line that she had created to keep them both on professional grounds; he was the one who kept trying to invade her personal space...

Those had to be the reasons why she had started building her own wall of China, right?

Or maybe she had been hurt too badly…

He took the glass to his lips and emptied its content in one sip, the liquid burning its way down his throat, causing him to cough a little.

He couldn't stand the idea of her being hurting; he couldn't stand the idea that maybe she was hurting as much as he was; he couldn't stand the idea that maybe she was feeling as lonely as he was… he couldn't stand the idea that maybe she was feeling as miserable as he was.

He wished he could just ask her directly but he was afraid that she would take another step back.

You see, the last couple of weeks had been rough for both of them and had caused them to do and say things that he was sure they both regretted. At least he did. But then again, he had been the one playing the cruelest and the hardest cards when he knew she wasn't even aware of the rules of the game.

Or maybe she was aware of them… maybe she just didn't want to play.

That made him both happy and sad because it meant that she knew she was better than him but it also meant that he had attacked her and she had retreated and he knew that she only retreated from a battle when badly hurt.

He tightened his grip on his glass.

He tightened it so much that the glass gave in and broke down into a million of tiny pieces.

He witnessed the whole thing happening like an outsider, like an out-of-body experience. But instead of a glass, he watched himself crushing Gillian's heart with his hand.

And it bled.

It bled profusely in his hand.

And it was his fault.

And he could feel her pain.

Anger ran through his veins at such a high pace that he grabbed the half empty bottle of scotch and threw it against a wall.

On that very same moment the bell rang.

He cursed under his breath yet again and stood up, wrapping his bloody first on his black shirt as he walked to the door.

As he opened it he realized that there was no one on the other side. He raised an eyebrow and looked both ways before rolling his eyes at himself.

That was it.

He was losing it.

He was going insane.

He was going crazy to the point of starting to hear things.

But as he started to close the door something on the floor caught his attention.

He squatted and blinked twice to make sure that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

And they truly weren't.

Someone had actually left a baby at his door.

And even though the situation seemed too wrong and too unreal in his head, only one thing crossed his mind…

"I need Gillian."

He carefully grabbed the baby from the floor and walked back into the house.

… … … …

Weird, huh? LOL.

You have no idea.

Still, R&R if you feel like it.

I am going to write the second chapter now.

See ya soon,

Tess.


	2. Two windows are opened

And because I am insane, I am posting a second chapter today!

Thank you for the reviews, girls. ;]

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Lie To Me.

… … … …

There is time for silence.

There are moments in life when you wish that silence was the music playing on repeat.

There are moments in life when you wish the world would just stop and let you be on your own for a few minutes.

There are moments in life when you wish that you could hear your own thoughts inside your head.

But then there are moments when you wish you were surrounded by a busy crowd.

There are moments when you wish that someone stole your attention against your will.

There are moments when you wish your thoughts were just whispers running against the loudness of a _family_.

There is time for silence.

But then there is Christmas.

And they shouldn't come together.

But sometimes… they just do.

… … … …

Gillian Foster had gotten home that day and had found herself studying her surroundings as she stood by the door, her back resting against it, her jacket still in place. She hadn't moved, not even an inch, since the moment she had walked in.

They had left work earlier because it was Christmas Eve and everyone seemed to have loads of things to do before following their plans and getting ready to assume their roles as daughters and sons, as wives and husbands, as mothers and fathers, as aunts and uncles… as people who had a life besides work.

Some still had to pack to go meet their families that lived in another state or another city, some still had to buy some gifts, some still had to go grocery shopping and bake the famous cake that the whole family seemed to adore… and some had another thousand reasons that would take ages to enumerate and as much time to get done and that would perfectly justify the need for those few hours before the madness began.

There was really no space for discussion but Cal and Gillian had actually gotten together that morning before announcing to their employees that they would close at midday so that everyone would have time to get ready to the holidays without having to rush.

That had been the last time she had spoken to Cal that day. I mean, they had walked by each other on the hall and Gillian had actually gone to his office so that he would sign a paper but he had been on the phone so there hadn't been any time to talk about what their plans for Christmas were and what not.

She didn't feel that bad after that quick and silent visit to his office because she knew that she would probably run into him as they both left the office because he always seemed to wait for her. Well, maybe he just had a fantastic timing but she liked to think that he actually sat on his office with his door open so that he could jump off of his chair as soon as he watched her turning off the lights.

A smile had taken over her lips as she turned her computer off and stood up so that she could get her jacket and her purse, but as she closed her office door, she noticed that the building seemed to be deserted. Her heart had skipped a beat as she stood motionless on the hall for a moment before taking a deep breath and walking towards his office.

It was empty.

She felt a tear tickling the corner of her eye and sighed deeply as the adventurous drop of salty water rolled down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away before running a hand through her hair while she tried to convince herself that he had probably gotten an urgent call from Emily asking him to pick her up somewhere.

He hadn't forgotten her.

Of course not.

She had then turned around to leave.

As she opened the doors of the Lightman Group so that she could abandon the building, she noticed that the doors felt a bit heavier than what they had felt that morning.

She had been happier that morning; she had been happier that morning because she hadn't been walking into her work place, she had been walking into her _home_. And now… now she was going to the cold apartment where she lived all by herself.

Only when she closed her apartment's door behind her and rested her back against it did she realize that this was the first time in years that she was going to spend her favorite holiday on her own.

She had no one to talk to, no one to cook to, no one to look good to… she was all alone and no one seemed to have noticed it, no one seemed to care… not even Cal.

She rolled her eyes at her own thoughts.

She was being selfish.

Cal was just a friend and he had a daughter… he had a _family_.

He had to look after his family, right? After all, that would be exactly what she would do if she was in his shoes.

And she had been… she had been there once… she had had a daughter once… _her_ Sophie. And for the few days that she had had her, the little baby girl had been her world, her life.

But that was part of her past, a past that had been long gone but far from being forgotten.

She finally moved once her knees regained their strength and made her way towards the bathroom, praying that the shower of feelings that had come upon her would disappear with the help of a warm bath and a glass of wine.

She had dropped her jacket, her purse and her shoes in the living room, had grabbed a glass and a bottle of wine from the kitchen and had made a final stop at her bedroom to grab a nightgown before going to the bathroom.

She couldn't quite recall for how long she had stayed under water but when she left the bathtub, her skin was soft but looked slightly wrinkled.

She grabbed the peach lotion which had ironically been an early Christmas gift that she had gotten from her mother by mail, and slowly massaged her skin with it. She felt her muscles relaxing under her touch and closed her eyes as she allowed herself to dive into that feeling of safeness and quietness.

Her mind seemed to be empty and her soul at ease.

But then her cell phone rang and she jumped slightly and awkwardly, hurting her leg in the process. She bit on her lower lip as she put a hand over the piece of skin right above her ankle that seemed to be getting redder by the second while reaching out with the other hand to see if she could grab her cell.

"Hello?" She said on the phone, trying to hide the pain that kept poking her leg.

She raised an eyebrow as she heard Cal's voice coming from the other side of the line.

Wasn't he supposed to be with Emily? And if so, why was he calling her?

He didn't give her time to answer him. Well, he didn't actually make any questions before he hang up. He had just said that it was an emergency and that he needed her to come to his house as soon as possible.

She stared at her phone for a second before deciding that she should better hurry and go check if he was alright as there had been something on his voice… urgency… a _plea_…

She had to go see him.

If she had already forgotten her pain, she was well reminded of it as she tried to take her first step. She cursed under her breath as she tried to make her way towards her bedroom without collapsing.

As soon as she found herself there, she grabbed a robe and put it on. She then used her phone to call a cab and made her way to the living room, grabbing her purse and looking for her keys inside it.

She left her house on a nightgown, her feet were bare and her hair was still yet.

The cab driver sent her a look but she ignored it, giving him the address and saying that it was an emergency.

… … … …

I just adore Gillian.

Can you tell? :P

R&R, if you feel like it.

See you very very VERY soon,

Tess.


	3. And the breeze runs free

Thank you for the kind reviews. You guys are fantastic.

And thank you twice, **Lodie**. You basically wrote this story for me and that's why this is yours. PEAS for LIFE.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Lie to Me.

… … … …

The knock on the door made Cal aware of the fact that he had been staring at the baby for quite a while now. He felt ridiculous for not knowing how do deal with the situation, but apparently having had a baby before – and here we are talking about Emily, of course – didn't seem to be any help.

Truth to be told, he had been quite absent around the time Emily was born and maybe that was why he couldn't help but be afraid of breaking the innocent human being that lied in front of him, of corrupting the perfection of this new human being who still had a whole life ahead of him.

He felt like he was floating in the middle of an ocean filled with hungry sharks waiting for a rather obsolete movement to find him in their blindness and attack to kill.

Once he finally found enough strength to move – proving to himself that the whole thing wasn't just a dream – he started questioning his sanity.

Was he hallucinating or Gillian Foster was really standing there, wearing nothing but a nightgown?

When his eyes finally reached her face, he recognized the worried expression that seemed to have taken over her graceful lines and suddenly it all became very real to him. This was not just another one of his dreams… he was actually living this situation and he was going to have to deal with it.

"Are you alright?"

Those were the words that broke the silence.

The voice tone in which they came wrapped showed deep concern and caused his heart to shrink. He hadn't told her anything on the phone and yet she had come running to him… she had stopped living her own life to come and rescue him from drowning in his.

"I seem to have a bit of a problem…"

He finally answered, allowing her to walk in before closing the door, not failing to notice that the taxi driver was still following her movements with his eyes. He sent the other man a look that yelled out she-is-mine, causing him to finally turn the engine back on and drive away.

When he turned around he was yet again confronted with her figure, her blue eyes watching him, waiting for him to do something, to say something, to explain what exactly the problem was and how she could help.

But he decided to take his time as his _little _problem was now asleep and she was one hell of view.

Way too good to be ignored, in fact.

He took a step forward so that he could stand closer to her. Even though it was freaking cold outside and she was wearing nothing but a nightgown, she was still emanating heat and warmness. He took in a sharp breath that didn't go unnoticed and that caused a shiver to go down her spine.

The way she changed her position told him that she was starting to acknowledge the fact that she was literally underdressed, but it also told him that she had been so focused on his cry for help that she had forgotten her own state. She had apparently put him at the top of her list of priorities, even above herself – if that isn't the true definition of love, would you mind refreshing my memory?

He removed the sweater he had been wearing over his t-shirt and took yet another step towards her, helping her into the warmness of his piece of clothing. An appreciation sigh escaped the back of her throat as the fabric met her skin and his scent reached her nose, causing a feeling of safety and belonging to take over.

"Looking peachy."

His comment brought her back to the world of the living, making her blush slightly as she realized that she had let her guard down and had allowed him to watch the show of emotions that had been displayed on her face. Not only did it seem like he had enjoyed what he had seen, he had also apparently enjoyed what he had smelled. She would have to call her mother and thank her for the peach lotion… later.

Her reaction was delayed but she did reach out and hit him playfully in the arm.

"Very funny, Cal. You know, most of the people would be quite mad to be called in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve and be asked to abandon their houses for an apparently not so significant emergency."

"But you aren't most of the people, are you, love?"

His question was quite tricky and his face looked blank to her so she didn't quite know if he was being serious or was just teasing her. That was why she decided to answer him by raising one of her eyebrows instead of voicing what would probably be an incoherent answer that would still say too much.

She was half expecting him to answer the question himself but the only thing he did was to give her a smartass smile and to grab her hand, gently leading her towards the couch.

"When I said I had a bit of a problem, I actually meant it was small in size…"

He explained as he guided her, his words leaving his mouth in a low and gentle voice tone as he wanted to avoid waking up the baby that was still lying on his couch.

"But for some reason I am under the impression that I am in a lot of trouble."

He finally concluded as they reached the place where the little baby boy was sleeping.

He watched as her mouth formed an "O" shape before turning into a smile that exhaled love. He had always said that he knew she would be a great mother but yet she always seemed to be able to surprise him when it came to dealing with children.

The way she moved closer and sat carefully by the baby's side, the way her hand gently touched the baby's fingers as if she was counting them to make sure he was real, the way her lips came to rest upon the child's forehead…

He couldn't help but wish that the painting that now stood in front of him, and of which he was part of, was real.

"He is perfect."

She whispered, her eyes not leaving the peaceful face of the baby.

"Is he yours?"

… … … …

Sorry it took me so long to update. I had to deal with college and exams but now I seem to have a few days off so I will try to work on all my stories.

R&R if you feel like it.

See y'all soon,

Tess :)


	4. And so do our dreams

This one goes out to the lovely **Lodie** again… I apologize for taking so long to update but my brain decided it was okay to stop being nice to me. ANYWAY, thank you to all the lovely people that keep reviewing my stories! You guys are amazing! Thank YOU!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Lie To Me

…. …. ….

Cal blinked once… and twice… and thrice…

How come he hadn't asked himself the question that had just abandoned Gillian's lips?

He had thought about it for sure, right? Something must have distracted him and stopped his train of thought before he had time to come up with a coherent theory about the whole situation. He should be expecting the question though… it made sense that any person with at least half a brain would wonder about why that baby had been left at his door. And Gillian had way more than half a brain…

"Actually… now that you mention that… I don't really know."

Gillian raised an eyebrow and, for the first time since her eyes had lain on the baby, she actually turned to him so that she could look at him in the eyes.

"What do you mean? You don't know if this is your child?"

Yet again Cal blinked a couple of times before opening his mouth. No words came out though. He seemed to be floating in an ocean of hungry sharks waiting for him to move so that they could find him and attack him to kill.

He suddenly shook his head before covering his face with both hands.

"You make it sound so much worse…" He mumbled.

Gillian reached out and rested her hand on his knee for a moment, showing him that he wasn't alone and that she was there to help. Between them actions had always meant way more than just shallow words and worked way better as a mean of communication than anything else.

"Cal, there's a child lying on your couch. A baby… and you don't know if he's yours?" This time she weighted her words carefully as she let them out, wrapping them in a graceful tone so that they wouldn't feel like such a hard slap this time.

"Gill… I was here… living my life…" He stopped for a breath, putting his hands on his jeans' front pockets as he played the whole scene in his mind. He hadn't been really living… he had been thinking about finding a way of living though… "Suddenly there's a knock at the door and next thing I know I am holding a baby in my arms…" He sighed deeply and shrugged. "How am I supposed to know? It's not like I had time to run any DNA tests before you came over." That last sentence sounded harsher that he had intended to but Gillian's face didn't react which made him feel more at home. This is why he had called her… he knew she wouldn't judge.

"Have you called the police or something?"

The police? How come he hadn't thought about that either? As soon as he found himself with the baby in his arms the only thing he could think of was of calling Gillian.

Now that he actually thought about it, he had been thinking about calling her before finding the baby. He had wanted to hear her voice… he had wanted to see her…

Well, to be truthful, that was what he wanted every single day… till the end of times…

Oh Christ, that sounded bloody cheesy! What she did to him!

He wasn't even going to give her attire any thought or he was sure they would have one hell of a _huge _problem…

"The police… huh… no… I called you."

She had to smile at his answer. She had been the first person he had thought of. He could have called his ex-wife as Zoe had raised a baby with him but instead he had called her…

"I think you should give them a call…"

Cal nodded and grabbed the phone, dialing the number of the police. He smiled as he noticed that the baby had just woken up and was currently playing with Gillian's fingers. She would be such a perfect mother… her sweet and elegant face, her soothing touch, her graceful moves, her calm voice… her everything. She had been born to have a child…

He turned his back on them as soon as he heard a voice from the other side of the line as he was afraid I would get lost staring and wouldn't be able to explain what was going on. He spoke for a couple of minutes as he walked around the room and then hang up as they said they would send someone over as soon as possible.

He walked back to the living room and found Gillian holding the baby in her arms, playing with him and making him laugh. They seemed so happy and so at home… they seemed to belong… like his place had decided to embrace their presence. And he found himself thinking that he was also ready to embrace such a presence… such a life… such a dream…

He cleared his throat to announce himself and walked closer to them, touching the babies' nose in a playful manner before focusing his attention back on Gillian. How he wished he could wrap his arms around her and feel her body against his…

"They said there is a patrol close by and that they would send them over… they should be here any second…"

He was about to sit by her side when the bell rang.

"They weren't kidding about being close by… I am gonna open the door."

Gillian stood up right after him and slowly walked towards the door, avoiding any harsh or quick moves as she didn't want to scare the baby that hadn't yet cried since she had gotten there.

She reached Cal and she stood by his side as he opened the door to the police.

"Mr and Mrs Lightman? We got your call…"

Those words made Gillian very aware of what she was wearing. Of course they thought she was his wife… her hair was still yet and she was wearing nothing but a nightgown and a cashmere robe and her bare feet were touching the ground…

She was about to correct the agents' mistake when called intervened.

"Yes, we called about the baby…" He said, nodding towards the child that she was carrying. "He was left at our door a few minutes ago… there was no note, no phone call, no nothing…"

The two agent asked what seemed to be a thousand questions before looking at the baby and then at each other. It was Christmas' Eve… where were they going to find someone from the social services to come and get the baby?

That was the first time Gillian spoke, half guessing what was crossing their minds.

"We don't mind keeping him for the night… I mean, it's late and it's Christmas Eve… taking him to the station sounds sad…" She commented, caressing the babies' forehead lovingly.

Cal looked at her and raised an eyebrow inquiringly but it quickly went down as he noticed the atmosphere of love that seemed to be surrounding the two human beings. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to his body before looking back at the agents, a small smile playing on his face.

"Oh, we would have to clear up with the boss but I think that's actually a great idea…" Said one of the agents as the other one took a step back to make the call. "It's Christmas' Eve and he should stay with someone who appreciates him."

Cal noticed how the agent looked over at Gillian and smiled. He totally understood the situation. Not even an agent that had been trained to remain indifferent to human emotion could avoid smiling at the figure of Gillian and the baby.

"Well… the chief said it is brilliant idea and that after checking your profiles on the system thinks that the baby couldn't have chosen a better door to knock." The other agent said as he walked back to them. "We will stay in touch by phone though… apparently the chief has your card so just make sure you have the phone close to you, alright?"

As Cal nodded, the agents nodded back and wrote something on the notebook they had with them.

"Okay, I think that's all. Merry Christmas."

He watched the agents getting safely into their car before closing the door.

"I guess we need to buy a few things…"

…. …. ….

Hope you liked it!

Do R&R if you feel like it!

XXOO

Tess

P.S. Sorry for the English mistakes but my brain can't handle it now! XD


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